Key middle-eastern countries (Jordan, Israel, Palestine and -- sometimes -- Syria) share the Jordan River -- a river that is stressed by drought and over-allocation. In this article, a director of EcoPeace/Friends of the Earth Middle East (the region's only multi-national organization) describes EcoPeace's two-pronged strategy to "save" the Jordan River:
The first is a program called Good Water Neighbors, in which we work with nine river communities — four Jordanian, three Israeli, and two Palestinian, all located on opposite banks — to conserve water and educate people about the value of the Jordan and its wetlands. The second, and more challenging, task is to persuade national leaders to make the tough choices that will revitalize the Jordan: charging more for water, removing large subsidies to agricultural water users, and adopting large-scale conservation programs.Bottom Line: Every watershed in the world needs governance, cooperation and pricing at the watershed scale; see also poll results above!
3 comments:
I have traveled extensively through that area, and the injustice and short sightedness is appalling. The Israelis are leading innovators in drip irrigation manufacture and deployment, and have developed many fine conservation practices. So what do they do but appropriate surface and ground water, deny Palestinians access to capital and advice they could use to improve their water efficiency, and generally do the kinds of things that would make you tear your hair out if they happened to you. I wish the peace group all the best, but without any push from the US, I fear lip service is all they will receive from the Israeli government. Many Israeli citizens are as disgusted about this as I am.
People are getting smart these days! This article was published on Sep. 24
http://www.alternet.org/water/100057/the_middle_east%27s_water_crisis%3A_will_the_jordan_river_run_dry/
(via WaterSISWEB: http://www.siswebs.org/water/story.php?title=The_Middle_Easts_Water_Crisis_Will_the_Jordan_River_Run_Dry)
When there are not enough readers, they publish the same article in different places!
@Philip -- I've been there too, and I agree.
@Anon -- it was published at Yale360 (the link I provide) on 09.18.08 -- AlterNet and WaterSisweb picked it up. I am merely behind on posting (as I always am!)
Post a Comment